Grevillea plurijuga

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Grevillea plurijuga
Grevillea plurijuga 'Purple Haze' in Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Grevillea
Species:
G. plurijuga
Binomial name
Grevillea plurijuga

Grevillea plurijuga is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to southern Western Australia. It is a prostrate to low-lying or dense mounded to erect shrub with divided leaves with linear lobes and loose clusters of hairy, red or pink flowers.

Description[edit]

Grevillea plurijuga is a prostrate to low-lying or dense mounded to erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.6–3 m (2 ft 0 in – 9 ft 10 in) and up to 3.5 m (11 ft) wide. Its leaves are 20–130 mm (0.79–5.12 in) long and mostly divided with 8 to 24 linear lobes 20–100 mm (0.79–3.94 in) long and 0.7–1.5 mm (0.028–0.059 in) wide, the edges rolled under, enclosing the lower surface apart from the mid-vein. The flowers are arranged in loose, more or less cylindrical clusters of 8 to 40 on a hairy rachis 20–100 mm (0.79–3.94 in) long. Flowering time and colour varies with subspecies and the fruit is a glabrous, prominently ridged follicle 12–17 mm (0.47–0.67 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy[edit]

Grevillea plurijuga was first formally described in 1864 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected by George Maxwell.[4][5] The specific epithet (plurijuga) means "more yokes", referring to the many leaf lobes.[6]

In 2000, Robert Owen Makinson described two subspecies of G. plurijuga in the Flora of Australia, and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

  • Grevillea plurijuga F.Muell subsp. plurijuga[7] is a prostrate to low-lying, dense, mounded shrub 0.3–2 m (1 ft 0 in – 6 ft 7 in) high with pale grey to pinkish-red and cream-coloured flowers from September to January. The flowers are mostly borne on long, trailing peduncles below the base of the foliage.[8][9]
  • Grevillea plurijuga subsp. superba (Olde & Marriott) Makinson[10] (originally described in 1993 by as Grevillea superba in the journal Nuytsia by Peter Olde and Neil Marriott)[11][12] is a dense, robust shrub 2–4 m (6 ft 7 in – 13 ft 1 in) high usually with pale grey and cream-coloured or pale yellow flowers from October to December. The flowers are mostly borne on erect peduncles held above the foliage.[13][14]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Subspecies plurijuga grows in a range of habitats including heath, woodland and mallee between Norseman, Peak Charles, Esperance, and Cundeelee with and outlier near Southern Cross, in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions.[8][9] Subspecies superba grows in shrubland between Grasspatch, Scaddan, the Wittenoom Hills and Mount Ney north of Esperance in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions of southern Western Australia.[13][14]

Conservation status[edit]

Both subspecies of G. plurijuga are listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[8][13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Grevillea plurijuga". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Grevillea plurijuga". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ "Grevillea plurijuga". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Grevillea plurijug". APNI. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  5. ^ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1864). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Vol. 4. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 84. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  6. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 280. ISBN 9780958034180.
  7. ^ "Grevillea plurijugasubsp. plurijuga". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Grevillea plurijuga subsp. plurijuga". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  9. ^ a b "Grevillea plurijuga subsp. plurijuga". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Grevillea plurijuga subsp. superba". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Grevillea superba". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  12. ^ Olde, Peter M.; Marriott, Neil R. (1993). "New species and taxonomic changes in Grevillea (Proteaceae: Grevilleoideae) from south-west Western Australia". Nuytsia. 9 (2): 298–302. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  13. ^ a b c "Grevillea plurijuga subsp. superba". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  14. ^ a b "Grevillea plurijuga subsp. superba". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 25 August 2022.